Not Good
by Thiendrah
Summary: While injured, Ayumu is stung and goes into anaphylactic shock. He has a warning to give to the Blade Children before he dies. Can he, and can the Blade Children help him? I suck at summeries. Please R&R. I have returned!
1. Here we go

Ok. This will be weird but bare w/me. I own nothing but the plot, so you can't sue! " " talking. ' ' thinking. (' ') Flashback talk.

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Ayumu stood at the base of the stairs of an abandoned school, tired, scratched, bleeding from more places than he cared to count, having just escaped some wacko's latest plot to kill him, and he looked up at that wacko who was at the top of the stairs. He was tall, had dark brown hair and gray eyes, and dressed in a black suit and dress shoes. He was holding a cloth-covered box.

"Very good, Narumi Otouto." The man said. "Shall we continue the game?" Without waiting for an answer, he removed the cloth. Inside were killer bees. Ayumu's eyes widened. "The Blade Children must be destroyed, along with those who help them. You shouldn't have stuck your nose where it wasn't welcome. The blade children have infiltrated this building, searching for me, to kill me before I kill them. But, I will destroy them, shortly after you meet your demise."

"But why? What's the point of all this?!" Ayumu yelled up at him.

"Simple, I want those cursed children to die knowing that what they put their hopes in, you, was all in vain. You can't save them, you can't save anyone, not even yourself!" He paused to slowly open the lid of the box. "Enough talk, now die!" He jerked the lid open, and the bees swarmed out, heading straight for Ayumu. "Oh, did I mention that some of the previous traps had special chemicals on them to attract the bees?"

Ayumu started running down the hall adjacent to the stairs, the freak's maniacal laughter echoing down the halls. 'He had a backup plan incase I survived his traps. And I can't out run these bees for long.' But he ran anyway, he got pretty far before two bees got him, one in his right arm, the other on his neck. Right as they stung him, he turned down a different hall, and quickly forced the safety door shut on all the other bees. He leaned heavily against the door, and raised a hand in front of his face, it shook so bad it was almost vibrating. His breathing was becoming difficult. 'I can't die yet. That freak said the blade children were in the building, I have to warn them.' He slowly pushed himself up and slowly trudged down the hall.

_Rio, Kouske, Ryoko:_

"Are you sure this is the right place? It looks completely empty." Kouske asked Rio as he surveyed the broken down building.

"Of course I'm sure!" Rio returned, annoyed at having to be asked. "The tracer I put on Otouto's phone led us here. And the hunter's clue could only lead us here."

"Still doesn't look like this is –ooof" He stopped when Ryoko elbowed him in the gut. He glared at her.

"You're such a dimwit Kouske." She said simply. "Now, come on, let's find out what this hunter wants." She lead the way into the school, the others following close behind. Inside, the lights were off but plenty of light filtered in from the windows.

"So, where do you think he is?" Kouske asked. "No cameras, plenty of places for explosives, and no way to know where the hell he is."

"Simple," Rio stated. "We use the tracer on Otouto and that will lead us to him and the hunter. After all, he does have a knack for attracting trouble."

"I can't believe how casually you can say that." Ryoko stated; she sighed. "Oh, well. I guess it can't be helped. So where is he?"

Rio took out her PDA. "He's on the third floor, moving this way from the west."

"So, not too far. Well, off we go." They headed off up the stairs, ever wary of the fact that there could be booby traps everywhere. The reached the second floor landing, and were about to head up the stairs again when they heard heavy slow footsteps heading down towards them.

"That can't be Narumi Otouto." Kouske whispered. "The steps are far too heavy."

"But the hunter must know we're here, so I doubt that it's him." Rio whispered back.

Before they could decide who was right, a weary brown head stuck out from around the corner of the stairs. Ayumu looked blearily at the trio, and smiled weakly.

"I was hoping it was you guys." He said, slightly hunched over, hand on his chest. He slowly sank to his knees, leaning against the wall. "I have to warn you."

"What the hell happened to you?" Ryoko asked as she took his left arm and examined it. Ayumu now was practically gasping for breath.

"Anaphylactic shock?" Kouske murmured just loud enough to be heard. He saw the red blush caused by the fever and knew why the shorter was out of breath.

Ayumu nodded. "Wacko…set bees loose…they chased me… down the hall… and got me." He could barely breathe and talking was difficult to say the least. He slowly bent forward. Ryoko forced his shoulders back to make it easier for him to breathe while Rio gently lifted his head. As she reached around his neck, she felt the bump that was been the bee sting.

"Wait a sec, even though it's abandoned, there's still medicine in the nurse's office." Ryoko remarked. "I remember reading something about some things being left behind because the new buildings would have everything, so there would be no need to take anything from here. I'll go find some antidote in the infirmary." She got up to leave when a clammy hand grabbed her arm weakly. She looked and saw Ayumu trying to hold her.

"Wait." He said, raspily. "I have to tell you. The hunter knows you're here, he's going to kill you."

Ryoko sat back down, Rio asked, "How does he plan to kill us? Bomb, sniper, what?"

"No bomb…he'll die too…. not sniper…no gun…. poison gas."

"How do you know?" Kouske asked concerned.

"Saw gas mask…close, deadly gas…. will dissipate…but kill first." He was almost at his limit, and it was harder and harder to talk.

"I don't understand though, why kill you?" Ryoko asked.

"Said I should die… for helping you…. and he wanted you to die… believing that… what you put… your hope in… was for nothing. Knowing…that I can't… save you." His eyelids fell; he forced them open. "You have… to get out… or you will die. He…didn't…count on me… finding you. Run…before…he comes." His teeth were chattering and his voice kept dropping. His head now completely rested on Rio's hand. Her hand was almost burning from his fever.

"Otouto, there's something else isn't there. How did he know about your anaphylaxis?" Rio asked quietly.

"He knows… Aniki." His breathing was irregular now. "He knows…all your weaknesses…he will… kill you." ('Narumi Kiyotaka no Otouto, I have been waiting for you.')

'Kiyotaka-sama, why?' As Rio thought this, Ayumu fell completely unconscious in Ryoko and Rio's arms. "Otouto!"

"Kouske, hurry, get to the infirmary and find the antidote, Rio and I will get Narumi Otouto out and meet with you outside. Go!" Kouske, momentarily frozen, snapped to obey his childhood friend.

The girls laid Ayumu flat on his back. Rio softly laid her head against his chest and heard his heart beat, but it was faint and rapid. Ryoko placed her hand above his mouth and nose and felt his shallow breathing. She quickly grasped one of his arms and flung it over her shoulder and stood. "Come on Rio. We've gotta get outta here or we'll die like Otouto said." She led the way as they swiftly and cautiously descended the stairs.

"Ryoko-chan, how long does Otouto have?"

The girl in question didn't answer immediately. "I don't know. We don't know how long it's been since he was stung, and we don't know what strain on his body could have sped up the anaphylactic shock. But he's still alive, and if Kouske can find the antidote, he'll live."

"And if he can't?"

"Then the hunter gets his wish." Ryoko intoned solemnly.

_Kouske:_

He ran down every hall. Rio had checked the basic blueprint of this place before they'd entered, so he had a pretty good idea of where the nurse's office was. He turned a sharp corner and almost slid into a wall. 'Calm down, it'll do no one any good if I hurt myself because I'm in too much of a frantic hurry. But I can't help but wonder, why am I trying to help Narumi Otouto? Kiyotaka said he was the one to save us but I don't know. And why did he risk his life to warn us of the hunter and what he knew? He could've let us die; after all, we have tried to kill him in the past before. Heck, I even tried to kill him with anaphylactic shock, knew that'd come back to bite me. So why?' Kouske asked this but he already knew the answer. 'Because he's Narumi Kiyotaka's brother. He shares the same compassion for life. If Kiyotaka talked to this hunter, that means that he was once trusted by him and that he later turned hunter. So who is this freak?'

Before he could answer himself, he found the room he was looking for. He got in and smashed the medicine case glass and began diligently searching for the right one. "Damn it, where the hell is it?" He asked himself out loud.

"Looking for this?" A voice spoke behind him.

'Please don't tell me that's who I think it is.' He turned around slowly and saw the hunter, and he was holding a bottle of liquid marked 'Anaphylactic' and Kouske knew that was what he'd been looking for. "Heh, guess I was too obvious." He decided to bluff and be confident, and at the first chance, kill the guy and get the medicine.

"I see Narumi Ayumu found you. You must be trying to save him, like those girls. Too bad, he'll be dead very shortly. The bees that stung him were killer bees. Even without the anaphylactic shock, he'd die anyway. It's hopeless. Narumi is dead, the girls will follow soon after with the help of some associates of mine, and I'm going to kill you right now."

"Poison gas, right? Otouto already told us about all that, and if he guessed it, it's more than likely correct. Sorry to tell you this, but we Blade Children don't die so easily as you might wish." On the last word, he flicked his wrist, bringing out a hidden knife and dashed at the hunter, ready to stab the obstacle in the heart. But he never got that chance.

The hunter switched the medicine to his left hand and slipped out of Kouske's path at the last second. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the hunter chopped down with his right hand and hit the nerve center at the base of Kouske's neck, rendering him unconscious.

_Girls & Ayumu:_

"He's been gone too long." Rio stated firmly. "Much longer and Otouto won't last. I'm out of ideas as to what could be keeping him. He knows the antidote so why is it taking so long, unless he was found." The last was muttered softly as an after thought.

"Kouske is too smart to be caught by simple hunter, you know that." Ryoko tried to console her.

She had a first-aid kit in her pack and was treating Ayumu's injuries, but without an antidote, there was little more she could do. His breathing was almost down to nothing, his heart rate had spiked, and if his fever got any higher, is brain cells would start burning, lowering his IQ considerably, if he lived, and that would only happen if they could get the antidote. But she couldn't deny that she too was worried about Kouske's lack of appearance.

"I'm going to go look for him." Rio said. "Two people should be able to find the antidote we need." She got three steps before something flew at her. She ducked down just in time, and the thing flew over her head. She looked and saw it was a knife, Kouske's. Her eyes widened when she saw it. "Ryoko-chan, run!" But no one got that chance. About five men showed up in a ring, one was holding a limp Kouske.

"Sorry, Blade Children." The patronizing voice came from a man walking up to the circle. The men parted to let him through. "He was found where is didn't belong, so I thought I'd return him to you." He threw Kouske's body onto the ground in front of Rio, who immediately checked to make sure he was alive. Ryoko stood protectively over Ayumu. "He was looking for this." He held up the antidote. "But it's already too late for Narumi, he will die now, just before you."

He seemed to right. Ayumu was breathing slowly, harshly, and his body was shutting down as time kept passing.

"Why would you kill him?" Ryoko demanded. "He has nothing to do with us!"

"Yes, he does." The hunter smirked sadistically. "Kiyotaka had big plans for him to help you monsters. I will destroy you and crush any hope you have. That includes Kiyotaka's baby brother."

"I think not." The voice came from just outside the circle. It was Eyes.

"Eyes-kun!" Rio exclaimed. "You're here, you came!"

The boy in question pulled out a gun and shot the hunter in the hand that held the antidote, causing the bottle to fling outward. At that moment, Kouske leapt to his feet and caught it. He tossed it to Ryoko and proceeded to pull out hidden knives and attack the lackeys. Rio tossed down a couple of cherry bombs, effectively knocking out more. Ryoko used the syringe in the bottle, got enough of the antidote, and quickly injected it into Ayumu. One of the lackeys, choose at that moment to lunge at her. She spun around and kicked the side of his head, landing him in the dirt.

"Well that was fun." Kouske remarked. Two seconds later, Ryoko punched him in the gut. "What was that for?!"

"You idiot! Do you know how much you worried me? You couldn't just get the medicine could you! No you had to get yourself caught by the maniac who wants us dead, didn't you!"

"Ryoko, calm down, nothing happened, we're all alive, please don't kill me. By the way, where are my glasses?" He started looking around when Eyes handed them to him. "Thanks."

"Eyes-kun." Rio said tentatively. "We need to get Otouto to the hospital. He's badly hurt without the shock."

"Yes, I've already called the ambulance. They should be here soon." He was as impassive as ever.

"I gotta wonder, what was he doing here in the first place?" Kouske wondered aloud as he put his glasses back on the edge of his nose. "The hunters should have nothing to do with him, and yet this one went out of his way to know his weakness and attempt to kill him. And what does he know about Kiyotaka?"

"We will find out when he wakes up, but for now, we must leave, lest we are discovered." The others nodded at Eyes advice. With the ambulance sirens heard, they quickly left.

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That's it. More chapters upon desperate requests. 


	2. Turn of Events

Ok. Second Chappie. I own nothing and thank you KousukeAsazuki for reviewing!

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Ayumu was in the hospital on a respirator; having nearly died of asphyxiation it was understandable. He remained unconscious for about two days with Hiyono and Madoka visiting him every minute they could. On the morning of the third day, Madoka was having an argument with the doctor assigned to Ayumu about the schedule for visiting hours. While she berated the poor man, Hiyono used that as a distraction to slip in and sit next to Ayumu. He truly did look horrible, bandages covered most of his arms and a good portion of his shoulders going down to his legs, and some small bandages were on his neck and face, an IV drip in his left arm at the elbow.

Ayumu could feel himself fighting the sleep that weighed heavily on him. He didn't want to; he knew that if he went back to the waking world, there'd only be pain. But he heard the voice of someone he loved. 'Nee-san?' He forced himself through the last remnants of the dream, wanting to apologize for making sister worry. His eyes slowly opened, and he immediately closed them again as the bright hospital lights sent pain through his brain.

"Madoka-san! Narumi-san is awake!" Hiyono's high voice cut through the argument effectively.

Madoka quickly ran over to her brother-in-law and saw for herself that he was stirring. He slowly opened his eyes again, this time expecting the light and adjusting to it easier. He turned his head to the side and saw his sister, tears in her eyes. "Nee-san, why are you crying?" His voice came out little more than a harsh whisper.

That pushed the tears over the rims of her large gray eyes. "You idiot." She said affectionately. "Why do you put yourself in so much danger? You made so worried, thank God you're safe now." She cried openly now, holding one of his hands in both of her own, as if afraid that if she didn't he would slip away from her like Kiyotaka did.

Hiyono felt seriously awkward in the familial bonding. So she did the only thing she could think of: She interrupted the moment. "Narumi-san, what happened to you, why did you end up like…this?"

He glanced at her for a second before looking away, reliving every moment, feeling the coming down and hitting him in the test, experience the trap knives slicing him again, remembering the smell of octane, the fatal thing that would kill him if he messed up, and finally, recalling the bees hitting him, sending him into the shock that left him here, warning the Blade Children of what was happening. 'Can I really tell them that? What will Nee-san think? What will she do?'

"I just did something stupid and got hurt. Nothing to worry about." His tone was light, trying to make the situation less that in was. He didn't fool everyone. Hiyono knew he was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.

Madoka sighed, more out of relief than anything else. "What were you doing, trying to snoop in police business again? I swear Ayumu, you'll be the death of me yet."

Ayumu smiled at that and chuckled a little. Or, more accurately, he tried to, but at that moment, his lungs seized up and he started choking/coughing. His left hand snatched the oxygen mask off while his right covered his mouth. Madoka immediately raised him up off the bed to make it easier. She watch worriedly as he kept coughing, rubbing small circles on his back, hoping to relax him, not knowing what else to do. His coughing finally subsided, and he sat there breathing harshly. Not a minute later, the doctor and a nurse barged in.

"Will you two ladies kindly leave while we check on him?" The doctor asked Madoka and Hiyono politely. They left with anxious glances back at the boy before the door was firmly shut in their faces.

They sat in the waiting room, and that was what they were doing: waiting. Waiting for doctor to come and give them news on Ayumu. Hiyono hated it. She was an impatient person by nature. She was fidgety and restless. Madoka on the other hand was completely calm, firmly believing in Ayumu's half truth. She simply wanted to visit with her brother again. Hiyono had had enough. She excused herself to the bath room and, after checking that it was empty, pulled out her phone and hit the number she remembered from a certain incident involving a tape. It rang twice and half-way through the third ring, it picked up.

"Rio-san?"

"Hiyono-chan? What are you calling me for?" The smaller girl sounded some what groggy, as if she just woke up.

"I know it's rude for me to call I have to ask you something important." Hiyono spoke very fast, wanting to be heard. "I need to know what happened three days ago. What happened to send Narumi-san to the hospital? Please, tell me."

Rio paused. She had snapped out her dazed stupor on the word 'important.' She didn't know how to tell her. She saw Kouske leaning on the window of the apartment they shared with Eyes, and motioned him over.

"Please, Rio-san, I know you guys were involved somehow. I just want to know what happened."

"I can't explain it very well. But Kouske might." Said red head raised an eyebrow. Rio quickly whispered the situation to him.

"Yo Hiyoko, what's up?" Teasing her was so fun.

Sure enough, she took the bait. "It's Hiyono!"

"Ah, gomen, gomen, Jou-chan." He was grinning like the Joker he played so often. Annoying her was so much fun. "What do you wanna know? Keep in mind, I don't know everything."

She decided to play his game. "Oh, I simply wanted to know what happened three days ago. Ayumu went out that afternoon, and he came back in an ambulance. I want to know why."

Kouske scratched the back of his head, more out of frustration than because it itched. "Not sure where to start Jou-chan. A hunter lured him to an abandoned building, ran him through and obstacle course, and set bees on him. He went into shock, found us, and passed out. We knocked out the hunter, called for help, and left. Not much to it."

"Don't give me that bull!" Hiyono screamed so loudly Kouske immediately jerked Rio's phone away from his ear. "I know something else had to happen! Why else would he refuse to tell me, or even Madoka-san?" Her voice was cracking as she tried to hold back tears. "Something bad happened didn't it? I saw it in his eyes, he's hurting inside, and you people know why don't you?!" All throughout her tirade, Kouske didn't bring the phone back to his ear, he had no need to. Hiyono was shouting loudly and he just stared at the phone, an almost comical look of helplessness on his face that Rio had to stifle her giggles. He sighed.

"Look, Jou-chan, it's not mine, nor anyone else's place to tell. Leave that to Narumi-otouto. He'll tell you eventually."

"But-" He ended the call before she could finish. All she heard was the dial tone and then she broke down.

_Back in the apartment:_

"Don't you think you were a little harsh Kouske?" Rio asked from her place on the couch.

His face was impassive for a moment before he faced her. "I know, but it's the truth. Otouto has to tell her, not us. But I can't help but feel that she was accusing us of hurting him."

"Well, she has valid reasons to think that now doesn't she?" Rio said complacently, taking a brush to her grey hair. "We have tried to hurt him in the past, and she's smart enough to realize that hunters seek us and usually don't involve "normal" people." She sighed. "From what I heard, Otouto is awake now. Do you think the hunter knows?"

Kouske sat next to her. "If he does, Otouto's going to in trouble. I'm seriously starting to regret leaving him alive, or not taking him prisoner. He'll probably make another attempt on Narumi-Otouto's life."

"We can't have that." Both looked up to see Eyes coming in and sitting down at that piano. "He is the only one who can save us. Kiyotaka is never wrong. And we cannot get innocents involved in our fights. Our hands are stained enough as it is." His quiet voice carried much weight with the two on the couch. They knew he was right, he always was. But it did not go unnoticed that Eyes had a hand over where his missing rib should have been.

_In the hospital:_

When Hiyono had regained her composure, she left the restroom and took a look in the waiting room. She saw Madoka still sitting there, now doing a crossword. She surreptitiously snuck back up to Ayumu's room. She quickly glance in the window to see Ayumu alone and still awake. She opened the door and glided inside. His eyes followed her as she sat down next to him.

She was quiet for a moment then blurted out, "What happened, I want to know! I can see how hurt you are, so please tell me."

Ayumu stared at her for a couple of minutes, taking in her red rimmed eyes and tear stains on her cheeks. He decided to talk. He owed her that much "The hunter, he knew Aniki." Hiyono's eyes widened. "I don't know if Aniki is setting me up to fall or if the hunter betrayed him and did this on his own but Aniki is involved in this. I don't want to, but I can't help but think the worse. After all, he was controlling the Blade Children." He sighed, the oxygen mask fogging up. "I don't know what to believe anymore." His eye lids descended gradually over his chocolate colored eyes, proof that the medicine was starting to take effect.

Hiyono left him in peace and quickly made her way back to the waiting room. Madoka took her home and went back to her own apartment, never a thought that Ayumu might not have told her something important.

_That night:_

A shadowy figure entered the room assigned to Narumi Ayumu. It slowly approached the bed, bright eyes taking in the slender body hooked up to an IV, heart monitor, and a respirator. It reached out to lay two fingers gently on the pulse running though the throat, smirking at the strong rhythm beneath its fingers. A noise outside the room caused the figure to whirl in alarm. Seeing another, more definite shape outside it ducked down around to the other side of the door. It opened, and a shape easily recognizable to the figure entered the room, never glancing around to see if anyone else was there.

Outside the window, clouds parted to reveal a full moon, filling the room with light. The hunter took a long knife out of a pocket and drew near to the bed. But when he was about half a foot away, a glint of steel showed in the moonlight, and Kouske revealed himself from the shadows, placing his jagged-edged knife to the hunter's throat.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that." Kouske said quietly, smirking.

The hunter smile smugly. "How do you plan to kill me? This is a hospital after all, one drop of blood out of place doesn't go unseen here."

"Oh, there are plenty of ways to kill you without spilling a drop of blood. But I'm not going to kill you. I'd love to but there are questions that need answering. Rio!" The small girl popped up from the other side of the bed at the sound of her name. She darted to the man and, grinning mischievously, attached a small device to his chest. She pushed a button and stepped back as Kouske removed his knife. The hunter was electrocuted and passed out before he could open his mouth.

"Well, that was easy." Rio remarked looking at the hunter with disgust. "Let's get him out of here."

She spared one last glance at the body on the bed, making sure he wasn't hurt any further, as Kouske bent down and grabbed the hunter in a careless hold. Rio opened the window and Kouske hopped out, being on the second floor, the jump did little to him or Rio who jumped out after him.

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Not as long as I would've liked but I have a point of stopping here that you'll find out next time. 


	3. At the Hospital

I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this up! Late Christmas, early New Year's present! I own nothing but the plot!

Hiyono showed up the next morning to see Ayumu. Good news: he was awake. Bad news: he wanted out of the hospital, pronto. And considering he couldn't move much in the condition he was in, that was not hardly a good thing.

"Lay back down before you have to be tied down." Hiyono said for about the fourth time. She gently but firmly grasped his shoulder and pushed him back down on the bed and put his oxygen mask back on.

He sighed and complied reluctantly. "I don't like being here. I need to find something about that freak who knows Aniki. And I can't do that from here!"

"Don't worry, Narumi-san." Hiyono smiled sweetly. "I brought along someone who might." Ayumu looked at her quizzically.

Enter Rio from the left. "Hey, Narumi-Otouto!" She waved to him as she came to the side of his bed. "I have some good news for you. We caught the guy who tried to kill you. He came here last night to finish you off but me and Kouske took him down."

Both Hiyono and Ayumu blinked at her. "Wait." Hiyono said slowly. "You knew that he'd come back to kill Narumi-san so that means…You used Narumi-san as bait without his permission!!" A vein stood out on Hiyono's head that could tow a car.

Rio just grinned like a cat. "Yep and we have him. Kouske's questioning him as we speak."

"You mean torture, right." The way Ayumu said it, it wasn't a question. He shook his head in amazement at how cruel the Blade Children could be.

"Only if it comes to that." Rio said, wagging a finger at him. "If he's smart, he'll talk without Kouske having to do anything more than question. If he won't Kouske could try and get in this guy's head but quite frankly, I'd rather not. If that fails, then we go to the rack and thumbscrews."

"You sound almost happy about the prospect." Ayumu remarked dryly, then yawned.

"Well, I can see you're not really here, so I won't be either. Good day, Narumi Otouto!"

Rio was about to skip out the door when Ayumu said blearily: "Will you tell me what he says, about Aniki?"

Rio turned around and looked at Ayumu's pleading eyes, and nodded. Ayumu fell asleep almost immediately afterwards. Hiyono quietly left Ayumu and headed after Rio, stopping the girl by grabbing her arm.

"I want to know, why? Why do you constantly use Narumi-san, and to what ends?" Hiyono hissed out at the smaller girl.

Rio was not intimidated. "Kiyotaka-sama has told us all we need to know, now we need Narumi-Otouto to help us do it, or we Blade Children will be lost."

Hiyono was almost frightened by how calmly Rio said this, almost. "If you need him so badly, then why can't you tell him what you need him for, or even why you people are constantly trying to kill him?!"

Rio turned full around to face the blonde. There was no light in her eyes at all, just coldness. "Because, we need him to be strong. He has that strength somewhere inside him, we're only trying to bring it out. And as for telling him, even we don't entirely know what part he plays. It's up to Kiyotaka-sama to tell him his full purpose." With that said, she walked away, leaving Hiyono standing shocked in the hallway.

_Eyes' Apartment:_

Kouske had the hunter in a basement of sorts, tied to a chair, while he sat on a sofa flipping a knife in the air and catching it expertly.

"You know, it'd save me a lot of time and effort if you'd just tell me what I wanna know." The red head said casually. "Trust me, if you don't start talking, me and my knives are gonna be the least of your worries." The hunter said nothing, just glared at Kouske with murderous intent. Said boy just sighed. "Oh, well. At least I can have some fun before Rio and Ryoko show up." He stood up, knife in hand, and nonchalantly started the torture.

First, he slowly cut off one ear. The hunter whimpered but didn't talk. Next, he sliced off a finger, causing the man to cry out. And so it went on, pain after new pain, but he still wouldn't talk. The man now had only 1 eye and ear, no fingers and no nose. He no longer looked entirely human.

At the end, Kouske sighed. "Well, I guess I can let the girls have you now, they need some fun too." He cleaned his now bloody knife on the hunters coat and walked out the door.

Pathetically short, I realize. But I can't think right now. And I think it's only fair to warn you that I have no idea where I'm going with this so any and all suggestions will be appreciated and considered thoroughly.


	4. What tangled webs we weave

Sorry for the long delay. It took me two years to figure out the rest of the plot, how sad is that?! Once again, I own nothing but the plot line. Lawyers can go F*** themselves.

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Ayumu was finally allowed to leave the hospital two days later. Madoka forced him to say home from school the next day, just to make sure he was really alright like he claimed (she doesn't believe him at all). He was allowed to go back to school the following day after pointing out, logically, that he felt completely fine and if he wasn't the doctors would have proscribed longer bed rest. So, with some trepidation, Madoka let him leave the house, after he made her breakfast of course.

'She worries too much' Ayumu thought as he walked onto the school campus. 'But even her worry can't stop her and amazing appetite.' He smiled ruefully when he remembered she reminded him to make her an extravagant dinner tonight. 'I need to stop telling her she can have what she wants.'

"Narumi-san! Hey, Narumi-san! NARUMI-SAN!!" Hiyono greeted him in the normal way the moment she saw him. Ayumu tilted his head away from her shouting, keeping the same bored look on face.

"I heard you the first time, Hiyono."

"Narumi-san, how are you feeling? Are you sure it's okay for you to be at school already?" Hiyono was nearly as worried as Madoka had been that morning.

"I'm fine, Hiyono." He said, not even looking at her as they continued into the building. "The doctors wouldn't have let me go if I wasn't, so stop worrying about me." 'I don't need or deserve it.' He pulled off his street shoes and put on his school shoes, grabbing his bag.

Hiyono huffed. "You're so ungrateful, Narumi-san! Here I am, worrying over your health, and you're acting like it's just an inconvenience to you."

"I swear, girls worrying over me will be the death of me. First Nee-san, now you. I wonder who's next?" Ayumu mused out-loud wistfully.

"Narumi-san?" Hiyono was left wondering what he meant as he left for his class. 'Has no one ever worried about him? Is he just not used to it, or does he not want it?' "Arrgh! Narumi-san is so confusing!" Just then, the bell rang, telling her that if she didn't hurry it up she'd be later then Ayumu. She ran for her next class, just barely making the bell. 'I find out about him later.'

_Lunch time, on the roof:_

Ayumu laid up on the platform next to the far fence, his cookbook over his face, trying to sleep. His body told him he was not yet at 100%, but his mind wouldn't let him just lay down and sleep. 'What is happening? Something is starting, and once again, Aniki is at the center of it all, pulling the strings just like always. I doubt that even if that hunter did betray him, he had absolutely no part in his actions, Aniki is smarter than that. What is he planning now?' The sound of the roof door opening jolted him out of his thoughts. He took the book off his face to see Kousuke standing there, behind him was Rio and Ryoko.

"Ah, Narumi-Otouto is back!" Rio rushed past Kousuke to stand in front of Ayumu. "How are you feeling, Otouto?"

"What is it with girls and worrying so much?" Ayumu queried, laying back down and putting the book back over his face.

"Otouto should be happier about having pretty girls worrying about him." Ryoko joked as she joined Rio.

"Not when all of them are crazy." Ayumu said in a bored tone.

Kousuke couldn't help snickering at that, until both girls turned around and glared at him and he had to turn it into a cough. "Speaking of crazy chicks, where's the reporter girl? She's usually always with you."

"She's in the journalism room, eating my lunch, again."

"Well, your cooking is so amazing! I'm going to see Hiyono-san!" Rio left at try and sneak some of Ayumu's amazing cooking from the reporter.

"Well, that's one crazy person gone." Ayumu chuckled as Kousuke and Ryoko settle down further away to eat their own lunches. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something." Ayumu directed towards Kousuke as he sat up for real this time. "Has the hunter told you anything? About Aniki or what he wanted?"

Ryoko munched on her bread, leaving the explanations to Kousuke. He sighed, hating being left that job.

"He knows about you and Kiyotaka so he was once trusted by him, but clearly not very much. That much is obvious. He's a hunter, so what he truly wants is to kill all of us Blade Children. However, normal hunters don't really care to learn much about anyone other than their targets. Hunters don't like to involve innocents but they won't go out of their way to keep them safe either." He rattled all this off like he'd known it for a while.

"That doesn't answer my question." Ayumu pointed out.

'Damn him and his perceptiveness.' "That's because the only thing we've gotten out of him at all are curses for us." Kousuke said unconcernedly.

"I want to talk to him."

"What?!" The statement brought a exclamation from both of the Blade Children. "Narumi-Otouto, he tried to kill you, he won't talk to you." Ryoko pointed out logically. She returned to her bread, sure he'd listen to logic.

"Even so, I want to try. If he knows anything about Aniki, I want that information." The red head saw determination in Ayumu's eyes that he hadn't seen since he had challenged Rio to a rematch. He chuckled.

"I gotta admire your stubbornness, Otouto. Not two days out of the hospital, already at school, and demanding to see your attempted murderer. You're one messed up kid, y'know that?"

"Does that mean you'll take me to see him?" Ayumu asked bluntly, in no mood for riddles or anything else.

"Yeah, sure." Kousuke smirked. "It's your own time you're wasting." The bell for the end of lunch period rang. "Meet us after school and we'll take you to him."

_Hiyono and Rio:_

"Hiyono-chan!" Rio called as she entered the Journalism Office. Said girl looked up from the half empty bento box, a pair of chopsticks still her mouth.

"Wheo-cwan" Hiyono greeted around a full mouth of tamagoyaki, she swallowed. "What's up?"

"Narumi-Otouto told us you were down here and so I...just... wanted to see if you'd share his lunch with me!" She exclaimed with pleading eyes.

Hiyono blinked before smiling and offering her the bento box. Rio squealed and took out her chopsticks, smiling gratefully and digging in. The two girls ate the bento with gusto, practically crying in ecstasy with every bite, exclaiming how she'd be the one to marry Ayumu and be treated to this sort of food every day.

After they had finished and cleaned up, Hiyono asked Rio the question she'd been anxious to know. "Hey, Rio-chan, you said you saw Narumi-san, right?" The gray-haired girl nodded. "How did he look? Was he okay?"

Rio thought on the question for a moment. "Well, he was sleeping when we got up there, but that's nothing new. However, he seemed a little annoyed for no reason, but really, he looked a little pale and more tired than sleepy like normal."

"I see." Hiyono said frowning. "Did he say anything?"

"He said he didn't like crazy girls worrying about him, rude boy." Rio said matter-of-factly, pouting in annoyance.

Hiyono giggled, "Yep, that sounds like Ayumu alright. Thanks for telling me, Rio-chan."

"No problem, Hiyono-chan. Thank you for sharing that heavenly lunch with me!"

_Kousuke and Ryoko:_

"Kousuke, why are you taking him to see that guy? You know Otouto doesn't need that." Ryoko asked Kousuke as they went back to class.

"He wanted it, Ryoko. Coddling him after all this won't do him any good, he doesn't need that either. Besides, the guy's tied hand and foot, half blind, and can't possibly do anything to hurt anyone. Even then, either me or Eyes will be in the room, just in case. Trust me Ryoko, nothing's gonna happen." Kousuke's answer was sure and confident, making even Ryoko believe him.

"I hope you're right."

* * *

TBC. I will update soon, I now know where this story is going. Thanks for your patience!


	5. When We First Learned to Deceive

Next point in our journey. Please keep your hands and arms inside the story at all times. No food or drink allowed. No pet lawyers allowed either. Thank and have a nice ride.

-

When the bell rang at 3:30, announcing the end of school, all Ayumu wanted to do was sleep, but he had to go and see the hunter, get any answers he could. So he met Kousuke, Rio, and Ryoko at the school gate with Hiyono (she absolutely cannot be dissuaded).

"Alright, let's go." Ayumu said when they had all assembled.

"You sure you wanna do that, Otouto? You really wanna know what this bastard has to say?" Kousuke asked, serious for once. Ayumu paused for half a second at that. 'What if...?'

"I said, let's go." Ayumu bit back, annoyed at the game he thought Kousuke was playing with him.

'Correct answer, Otouto.' "Alright then, follow us." Kousuke said, leading the way.

Hiyono pulled Ayumu's sleeve, making him walk beside her. "Narumi-san, is this really a good idea?" She whispered in his ear. "You don't know what this hunter might do or say to you. This is reckless!"

"So?" Ayumu asked, nonchalantly. "He might know about Aniki, that's reason enough to talk to him. End of story."

A tick stood out on Hiyono's forehead, and she looked ready to pull out her stuffed puppets for a 'Hiyono punch' but she, somehow, stifled her anger at the boy. She followed him and the Blade Children in silence until they reached the hideout where they had stashed the hunter. She noticed that Ayumu hesitated for a moment before decidedly following the others in; she stayed at his back the whole time. Down the hall, they found a set of stairs, going down into a large room, with a door connecting to a smaller room.

"You girls wait here." Kousuke said, indicating the small chairs against the wall. "Narumi-Otouto will go and see the hunter. Alright?" He clearly was asking a rhetorical question, the girls were staying there, like it or not, though Hiyono wanted to protest, a look from Ayumu changed her mind. She sat quietly between Ryoko and Rio, watching as the boys entered the room, Kousuke closing the door behind them.

Inside, Eyes stood with his arms crossed, next to a 'humanoid' figure with a hood over its head. Eyes nodded in acknowledgement of the two coming in.

"Shall we get started then?" Eyes asked, already knowing the answer.

Ayumu took a seat across from the hooded figure, nodding his assent, mentally preparing himself for what may come. Eyes removed the hood, and Ayumu had to force himself not to flinch at what was there. He had one eye and ear, his noes was gone, his hair was gone. His face had shiny new burns all across from cheek to forehead to chin, a blackened patch just to the left of his jugular on his throat. Slices from knives and bruises from punches and kicks marked him all over. He did not look human. Ayumu swallowed hard.

The thing opened its one eye as saw Ayumu sitting there, and what was left of his mouth split into a maniacal grin. "If it isn't Kiyotaka's bastard brother. Come to see the result of your interference?" His voice was scratchy and wheezy, his voice box damaged.

Ayumu steeled himself and answered. "I came for only one reason: Tell me what you know about my brother, everything you know."

"'Everything I know'?" An asthmatic chuckled came from his throat. "I know more than you'd ever want to know, boy. I know that Kiyotaka has been manipulating you and the cursed children from the beginning. That everything you've done up till now was part of his ultimate plan and that you can't escape, non of you can. These children were never meant to exist in the first place, and would you like to know something else?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You were never meant to either."

Ayumu's eyes widened, his breathing became a little faster.

"That's right, boy. You don't deserve life anymore than the Blade Children do. And as much pain as I'm in right now, it's nothing compared to what agony you will go through very soon. When your life begins to tick away, the pain will eat away at your body, rendering you helpless. You will die alone, this knowledge will eat away at your heart and will inevitably destroy you."

Eyes and Kousuke gauged Ayumu's reaction to his words. He was pale, brow sweating, almost hyperventilating, trying so hard to remain calm.

"You don't even know what you are, do you." It was not a question. "You only know that you're the 'hope of the Blade Children', you don't know what you truly are! You're even more pitiful than they are, because even if you do manage to save then, you'll never save yourself! Not even your precious 'Aniki' can save you. The little brother of the one who could be called a god, and he's just a shivering little boy with no hope and no future at all!" Maniacal laugher echoed in the room.

"I believe that's enough." Eyes quickly hit the nerve center at the base of his neck, knocking him out, then pulled the hood back over him. He looked to Ayumu and he started.

Ayumu was shaking badly, his eyes wide with fear and uncertainty, his face pale and sweaty, breathing erratic. Kousuke crossed over to him, placing two fingers gently on the delicate throat, tilting the head. Ayumu didn't even try to fight him off, barely even registered it in the back of his mind. 'What is he talking about? What is Aniki planning? Why was I not meant to exist? _What am I?!'_

The pulse under Kousuke's fingers was erratic and fast. Kousuke's eye's widened at that. "Uh, Eyes, I think we got a problem." He tried to remain calm.

"The adrenaline going through him is making his heart beat too fast. After the strain of the anaphylactic shock, this is that last thing his heart needs." Eyes walked to the other side of Ayumu, sitting in the vacant seat. "Narumi-Otouto, you need to calm down, otherwise you'll only hurt yourself." Eyes spoke to him calmly, as one would to frightened child.

Ayumu closed his eyes, still trying to process everything around him. He felt Kousuke's fingers on his throat, not doing him any harm, and his hand on his shoulder. He felt Eyes sitting next to him, felt the soft breaths against his face. He was distantly aware of the fact the hunter was silent and the Eyes was trying to talk to him. He tried to take a deeper breath but ended up choking. He raised a hand to cover his mouth as he coughed violently, but Eyes held his hand down and leaned him forward, putting a handkerchief in front of him, letting him cough into that until he could breath again. Kousuke had removed his fingers when he started coughing.

"Are you calm now?" Eyes asked, slightly tinged with worry.

"I...I think so." Ayumu's voice shook slightly as he tried to pull himself back together, his thoughts trying to piece together and make sense of what the man had said.

"You might as well just admit you're not okay, Otouto." Kousuke said, squatting down so that he was more or less eye level with the boy. "Any more shocks like that and I think you're heart'll give out."

"Kousuke's right." Eyes added. "You're heart, and the rest of you, has been strained too much. Go home, Narumi-Otouto." Eyes stood up. "Go home and rest, let your sister and the Yuizaki girl worry over you and take care of you. From what he seems to know, you're going to need to be a full strength."

-

I'm not sure how, but this just became a three way romance and I really don't know how it happened. I mean, my thoughts are literally spewing out onto the keyboard. So, hold on for the ride and let's see if this gets us anywhere good.


	6. Taking a Step Back

Well, we're clipping along at a fairly good rate. Let's continue into my insanity shall we? Another relationship chapter.

* * *

Ayumu took one last deep breath, and opened his eyes, seeing Kousuke kneeling in front of him and Eyes sitting next to him in his peripheral vision. They watched him carefully, making sure that he wouldn't panic again.

"I think I'm gonna head home. Nee-san will be worried." His voice trembled only slightly. The others said nothing as he stood up, his eyes to the ground and face unreadable.

Kousuke glanced at Eyes, and they stood up, following him out the door. They were immediately met with the girls, clustering around all three of them.

"Narumi-san? How did it go?" Hiyono asked tentatively. Ayumu didn't answer.

"Narumi-otouto has a lot to think about, Hiyono-san. Please take him home." Eyes said politely.

Hiyono eyed him suspiciously but gently led Ayumu out of the building. When they were gone, Rio turned to Eyes.

"Eyes-kun, what happened? Why did Narumi-otouto have that look in his eyes?"

"That deranged hunter said somethings that have him confused." Eyes answered.

"Confused about what?" Ryoko asked.

"His existence." Eyes answered simply. The girls' eyes widened.

"And this is not a good time for him to questioning something like his reason to live." Kousuke said. "We still need him or we'll be the ones without any reason to live."

"Do you think he can still save us, Eyes?" Rio placed a hand on his arm.

"I don't know." Eyes answered honestly. "But I want to believe Kiyotaka's words that he can."

"I don't see how he can the way he is right now." Kousuke stared at where Ayumu and Hiyono had left. "He's fighting scared now. There's no way to know exactly what he's gonna do at this point. What happens if that hunter is right, and he can't even save himself? How can he save us?"

No one spoke for a minute, lost in thought, then little Rio finally said something. "What if we helped him?" The others looked at her. "It seems obvious to me. He can't do it alone, and we can't just sit here waiting for him to get stronger on his own. Our tests have helped but he needs something more." She looked up to Eyes. "Didn't I say it once? 'We need Narumi-otouto to believe in himself, but I can't help but feel we need to believe in him just as much.'"

-

Ayumu and Hiyono walked in silence to the train station. they bought their tickets and waited on a bench on the platform. Hiyono watched as Ayumu sat perfectly still, staring into space. She stared down at her hands, trying to think of something.

"Ne, Narumi-san?" She called him softly. He looked at her, and she had to keep herself from recoiling from the empty eyes. "Are you alright? What did that creep say to you?"

Ayumu turned his head and stared into space. Hiyono thought he wouldn't answer her question when he suddenly spoke up. "He said I shouldn't exist." His voice was as emotionless as his eyes. "I don't understand it, but, for some reason, I reacted to his words. I sat there, shaking like a scared little kid as he went on about how I can't even save myself, let alone the Blade Children. I wish I knew what was going on." He sighed wistfully.

"Oh, Narumi-san," Hiyono whispered. "Is there anything I can do?"

Ayumu promptly leaned over and placed his head on her shoulder. "Just let me rest here for a minute. I still have to face Nee-san." He sighed again, the breeze ruffling his chocolate bangs. "I need to figure some stuff out. I'll tell you eventually." He closed his eyes, relaxing against her.

Hiyono blushed crimson at his forwardness but remembered he'd done the same thing before. She looked around, making sure no one was staring at them before relaxing. They had 20 minutes till their train arrived, it can't hurt to let him rest that long. She'll wake him up when it arrives.

-

The train arrives at the station and Hiyono and Ayumu disembarked. Ayumu was only slightly recovered after his short nap. They walked in silence till they got to Hiyono's street.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, right, Narumi-san?" Hiyono asked, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He answered as he always did, making Hiyono smile wider. Ayumu would be okay. She turned and walked into her house.

Ayumu shook his head in confusion and continued on to his apartment. When he got to the door, he took a deep breath and opened it. He stepped inside, took off his shoes and continued to the living room, where Madoka sat at the table glaring hard enough to light the wall on fire.

"Where have you been!?" Madoka was up from her seat and staring accusingly at him.

He sighed. "I had to talk to someone after school. It ran later than I thought it would, sorry." He explained nonchalantly.

"That's all you have to say?" Madoka asked suspiciously.

"Well, I also had to wait for the train, and I had to walk Hiyono home."

"That's not what I meant!" Madoka cried. "I meant, who were you talking to and what were you talking about?"

"Hmmm…'What were we talking about?'" Ayumu repeated, getting a bottle of water out of the fridge. "I'm still thinking that over. When I come to a conclusion, I'll let you know." He took his water and his backpack and fled to his room before his sister could protest.

Madoka stared after him with something akin to anger. "You will not do this Ayumu." She whispered to her absent brother. "You will not shut me out like Kiyotaka-san did. I will find out what's going on. I will help you."

* * *

And that's that.


End file.
